The present invention relates generally to vehicle seat assemblies and in particular to a cover member for a seat assembly component in which the open end of the cover member is closed using a conventional cable tie having integral closure means.
In the production of seat assemblies, particularly with respect to the seat back and headrest pad, it is necessary for the cover member to be secured around a mounting post or frame member that extends from the seat cushion or headrest. This presents a difficulty in providing the finished appearance to the cover member. It is necessary that the opening in the cover member be sufficiently large for the foam pad and necessary component structure to be inserted into the cover member. After the foam pad has been inserted into the cover member, the opening must be closed in a fashion providing a secure attachment of the cover member and to completely enclose the foam pad. At the same time, the cover member must have an attractive appearance. To provide a large enough opening for assembly, there is often additional material that must be dealt with to provide a tight fit for the cover member.
Possible ways of accommodating this additional material include elastic, snap fasteners or hook and loop fasteners such as VELCRO. However, each of these methods have their own drawbacks. With elastic, durability of the elastic attachment is a concern as well as the inability to control how the fabric material is gathered by the elastic. With snap fasteners, extensive labor is required to attach the fastener elements to the trim cover and, once assembled, it is relatively easy for the snap fasteners to be unfastened. With VELCRO, the attachment can be easily unfastened as well.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, yet reliable, means for securing the cover member of a seat component.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a closure for the cover member around an extending frame or mounting member.
It is a feature of the present invention to utilize a conventional cable tie to draw the cover member around a protruding mounting structure. The self locking features of the cable tie enables a loop to be formed of any desired circumference. Closing of the cover member around a protruding mounting structure is made easy, quick and reliable. Furthermore, the cover member is left tight and neat in its appearance.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.